Publication Name	World Journal of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
Manuscript ID	64871
Country	Greece

Category	Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Manuscript Type	Observational Study
Article Title	COVID-19 in the endoscopy unit: How likely is transmission of infection? Results from an international, multicenter study
Manuscript Source	Invited Manuscript
All Author List	Ioannis S Papanikolaou, Georgios Tziatzios, Alexandros Chatzidakis, Antonio Facciorusso, Stefano Francesco Crinò, Paraskevas Gkolfakis, Gjorgi Deriban, Mario Tadic, Goran Hauser, Antonios Vezakis, Ivan Jovanovic, Nicola Muscatiello, Anna Meneghetti, Konstantinos Miltiadou, Kalina Stardelova, Alojzije Lacković, Maria-Zoi Bourou, Srdjan Djuranovic and Konstantinos Triantafyllou
Funding Agency and Grant Number
Corresponding Author	Paraskevas Gkolfakis, MD, Research Associate, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatopancreatology and Digestive Oncology, Erasme University Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Rue de Lennik 808, Brussels 1070, Belgium. pgkolfakis@med.uoa.gr
Key Words	COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Gastrointestinal endoscopy; Personal protection measures; Transmission; Lockdown
Core Tip	Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak caused an unprecedented disruption in everyday endoscopic practice worldwide, with recent guidelines advocating suspension of non-emergency endoscopies, implementation of strict personal protection measures (PPM) and post-endoscopy patients’ evaluation, regarding their COVID-19 status. This was an international, multicenter, study seeking to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on endoscopy during the first European lockdown (March-May 2020). COVID-19 transmission across endoscopic units proved to be highly unlikely in lockdown circumstances, as long as endoscopy performance is restricted to emergency cases and sufficient PPM are available.
Citation	Papanikolaou IS, Tziatzios G, Chatzidakis A, Facciorusso A, Crinò SF, Gkolfakis P, Deriban G, Tadic M, Hauser G, Vezakis A, Jovanovic I, Muscatiello N, Meneghetti A, Miltiadou K, Stardelova K, Lacković A, Bourou MZ, Djuranovic S, Triantafyllou K. COVID-19 in the endoscopy unit: How likely is transmission of infection? Results from an international, multicenter study. World J Gastrointest Endosc 2021; 13(9): 416-425

Received	2021-02-25 16:40
Peer-Review Started	2021-02-25 16:48
To Make the First Decision
Return for Revision	2021-04-18 10:38
Revised	2021-04-27 09:20
Second Decision	2021-07-21 03:30
Accepted by Journal Editor-in-Chief
Accepted by Company Editor-in-Chief	2021-07-21 09:13
Articles in Press	2021-07-21 09:13
Publication Fee Transferred
Edit the Manuscript by Language Editor	2021-07-30 19:09
Typeset the Manuscript	2021-09-09 02:36

ISSN	1948-5190 (online)
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